Audubon seeks ‘chick checkers’ for rooftop nests

A least tern, a threatened species in Florida, is one of the types of seabirds in the area.

News Herald file photo

By VALERIE GARMAN | The News Herald

Published: Friday, June 13, 2014 at 09:54 PM.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — With Bay County’s beaches bustling, nesting seabirds often seek out quieter places to lay their eggs.

“They’re nesting on gravel rooftops specifically as a replacement,” said Michelle Landis, the rooftop nesting coordinator for Audubon Florida’s Panhandle. “They’d normally use flat, sandy beaches, but with all of the development and disturbance on the beach, they’ve been nesting on these rooftops instead.”

With four rooftop nesting sites in Panama City and four in Panama City Beach, Audubon is seeking volunteer “chick checkers” to help ensure the safety of the threatened species that call the rooftops home.

“They’re actually up there laying their eggs and raising their chicks on these rooftops,” Landis said. “Specifically we’re looking for volunteers to go to these rooftops and check for chicks that have fallen.”

While the newborn chicks cannot yet fly, they are mobile once they are a few days old.

“They’re running around and they may run off the edge,” said Landis, noting the birds often fall when they’re threatened by looming predators or maintenance workers. “Any little disturbance can cause them to flush the rooftops.”

Using a device they call a “Chick-a-boom,” an empty orange juice carton with a magnetic door attached to a paint roller, Audubon representatives are able to scoop up fallen chicks without disturbing the rest of the colony.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — With Bay County’s beaches bustling, nesting seabirds often seek out quieter places to lay their eggs.

“They’re nesting on gravel rooftops specifically as a replacement,” said Michelle Landis, the rooftop nesting coordinator for Audubon Florida’s Panhandle. “They’d normally use flat, sandy beaches, but with all of the development and disturbance on the beach, they’ve been nesting on these rooftops instead.”

With four rooftop nesting sites in Panama City and four in Panama City Beach, Audubon is seeking volunteer “chick checkers” to help ensure the safety of the threatened species that call the rooftops home.

“They’re actually up there laying their eggs and raising their chicks on these rooftops,” Landis said. “Specifically we’re looking for volunteers to go to these rooftops and check for chicks that have fallen.”

While the newborn chicks cannot yet fly, they are mobile once they are a few days old.

“They’re running around and they may run off the edge,” said Landis, noting the birds often fall when they’re threatened by looming predators or maintenance workers. “Any little disturbance can cause them to flush the rooftops.”

Using a device they call a “Chick-a-boom,” an empty orange juice carton with a magnetic door attached to a paint roller, Audubon representatives are able to scoop up fallen chicks without disturbing the rest of the colony.

The most common seabird species in the Panhandle are least terns, a threatened species in Florida, and black skimmers, a species of special concern.

This season, Bay County has been one of Audubon’s busiest areas for rooftop nesting.

“Specifically our busy regions are around Destin and Panama City,” Landis said, citing a black skimmer nest on the roof at the Panama City Mall and a least tern nest atop the Chateau Motel in Panama City Beach. “We just have more active rooftops this year in those two areas.”

If you want to be a chick checker, contact Michelle Landis at (850) 276-4069 or mlandis@audubon.org.